Is 10 to 4 is the new 9 to 5 in office hours?

Many people are still trying to sort out what is or isn’t a remnant of the COVID pandemic, and one thing that seems to have changed long-term is the workday.

Rush hour isn’t quite what it used to be these days, as traffic data is showing that working from 10-4 seems to be the new 9 to 5. Since the pandemic, commuters have settled into more flexible work schedules and this may be the new normal according to a recent report.

Last year’s Global Traffic Scorecard by Inrix , a traffic data analysis firm, measured traffic congestion in 947 urban areas worldwide to provide the insights.

UNO Business Professor & Economist Mark Rosa says, “This is dyed into the economy here now “ and adds that he doesn’t expect the 9 to 5 work schedule to return as the general standard. As younger workers have grown more accustomed to the flexibility of the hybrid schedule, Rosa notes that more employers need to be up front about what their work schedule looks like.

As schedule flexibility becomes more of the norm, expectations will continue to shift depending on the type of work being done. While much of the work done on computers lends itself to remote scheduling, manual labor (of course) does not.

Rosa notes that it falls on management in many sectors of the job market to sort out how they can accommodate workers’ increasing need for hybrid schedules. While many managers may be slow to adjust to the increasing demand for time away from the workplace, Rosa adds that when they see the overhead cost savings of not needing workers in physical spaces, they can be quick to adjust.

Especially in the tech sector, where much of the same work can be done anywhere, the years ahead may see a large shift toward remote and contract workers. This could be one of the rare marriages where cost effectiveness and worker demands coalesce into something that benefits both.